It’s a biological fact that when our brains are trying to process too many bits of information at one time it responds by shutting down our creative and innovative abilities. If the overwhelm persists it may even shut down our cognitive abilities. We all experience this in various degrees all the time.  

I don’t think that I’ve ever worked with a Business owner who hasn’t had the challenge of time. Take Yvonne, the owner of Econo Cartridge & Stationery, 2 branches in Empangeni and a shareholder in Richards Bay. Three branches, a mother’s usual concerns about her children, a business hard hit by the financial pressures of the Covid pandemic, a branch trashed during the riots and a team all looking to her, not to mention the business requirements of managing stock, cash flow and the customer experience.  

Over the years she had allocated time slots to work “on” her business numerous times, some days went well others not so well. She would stick to it, things would go smoothly so she wouldn’t pay it as much attention, responding rather to the things that weren’t going well. The overwhelm would set in … enjoyment levels would plummet along with her effectiveness as a business owner.  

I always tell my clients a default diary is like riding a bucking bronco, its going to chuck you off and you’re going to have to get back on, until you tame the beast. For those of you wondering what a default diary is, it’s a blocked allocation of your time in your diary, to do work that supports your plan to build a profitable business that is efficient and not dependent on you as the Business Owner. Now whilst that seems straight forward the problem is that the work you must do in this time slot is important but seldom if ever urgent. As we have become hard wired to prioritise the urgent ….. it's an easy toss and off you go!!!  Another week of being the super worker and no progress on building your business. 

It wasn’t until Yvonne really believed that her value to the business didn’t come from being the hardest working, highest skilled and most efficient person in her business …. that her value to the business was doing the work of a Business Owner, the important but not urgent stuff, that he started to create a new habit and started sticking to her default diary. She also took steps to protect her time by starting her day focused on her most important work, the business of building her business.  

What did this bring her you may ask? 

 “I feel more in control of my business and am more confident than ever that I can get my business where I want it to be. Sticking to my default diary has allowed me to be more effective and as a result my business is more efficient and sales are growing. I know as long as I stick to my default diary its going to be a good week”

I would like to encourage all business owners to learn from Yvonne's story, and begin their default diary.  

If you are also feeling overwhelmed by time and the demands of owning a business, take a look at Time Mastery: A Business Owner’s Guide